I'm an author, journalist and Director of Research for the Flow Genome Project, an organization dedicated to decoding the science of ultimate human performance. My books include "The Rise of Superman," “Abundance,” “A Small Furry Prayer,” “West of Jesus," and "The Angle Quickest For Flight." My articles have appeared in over 60 publications, including The New York Times Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Wired, Forbes, GQ, National Geographic, Popular Science, and Discover. At the heart of my work, and this blog, is a deep interest in the intersection of science, technology and culture, with specific focus on the extreme edges of the discussion—both larger philosophical implications and completely personal applications.

Creativity: The Secret Behind the Secret

In my last blog, I made the point that skateboarding is an extremely creative activity and that legendary skateboarder Danny Way has managed to stay atop this game for most of the past three decades, a period in which the sport went from a nascent, underground activity to a nearly five billion dollar industry. My point being that Way has had exceptional creative longevity in an arena that emphasizes novelty and youth—and this is no simple feat.

So how did he pull it off? Simple—just like Berns explained—he perceived things differently.

Sports that involve wheels—skateboarding, BMX riding, motocross, etc.—all do something very peculiar to the brain. And it happens fast. Usually around the point a novice begins to acquire their first bit of real skill, the world morphs. An entire new possibility space emerges. Instead of seeing a rock outcropping and thinking: “Oh, look, the majesty of nature.” The mountain bike rider says—“Oh look, the majesty of nature, can I ride my bike down that? Is that even possible? How can I make it possible?”

The same goes for skaters. As Danny Way explains: “I look at everything differently. With architecture, or urban planning, I see things no one really notices, subtle differences in materials, the shapes of stairs, tiny ornamental features that might mean interesting possibilities. It’s always can I skate that, how can I skate that, how can I skate that in a way that no one’s ever skated before. That’s the thought process. I just see the whole world as a playground.”

But, for our purposes, the most important point: This talent doesn’t just stay locked up in skating. “This creative way of looking at things impacts every aspect of my life,” continues Way, “as a skater, as a businessman, a musician, when I’m with my kids—all of it.”

Creativity, then, is not just taking in the new with much frequency. It’s a way of seeing the old as new, the downstream product of a long-term habit in altered perception. And this is the only proven work-around for our sheepish tendencies.

So if you’re trying to build a creative organization and looking over resumes, pay attention to past experiences. Hobbies and work. Look for those activities that require perceptual shifts for success. Have the potential employees been forced to train their brain to see things anew? Because, without this long term training our innate tendency is think similarly. We’re hardwired not to be creative. Changing that requires ceaseless effort. The world is either our playground or our prison, there’s just no other option. So what are you looking for in potential employees?

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